The Peru Gazette

The clean-up will take place from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on April 22, 2022, with registration opening at 9:30 a.m. Volunteers will meet at the Wilmington Town Beach at Lake Everest for the Wilmington event, or the parking lot on the corner of NY-9 and Bear Swamp Road for the Au Sable Point event. For more information, visit the Ausable River Association website: https://www.ausableriver.org/events/earth-month-ausable-river-cleanup.

WILMINGTON, NY — The Ausable River Association (AsRA) and three regional Rotary Clubs are partnering to host an Ausable River cleanup on Saturday, April 23. This year, The Rotary Club of the Au Sable Valley and Lake Placid Rotary Club will focus on roadways and riverbanks in the Lake Placid, Wilmington, Jay, Upper Jay, and Keene Communities. The Plattsburgh Rotary Club is hosting a simultaneous cleanup event in and around Ausable Point near Peru, NY.

AsRA invites all community members who want to restore and protect the beauty of the Ausable River to attend. “Last year, about 100 people joined us on a sunny Saturday to remove approximately 2,000 pounds of trash along Route 86, 9N, River Road, and other locations” said Tyler Merriam, Donor Outreach Manager at AsRA. “We’re thrilled to partner with more organizations this year and offer a second cleanup location lead by the Rotary Club of Plattsburgh.”

The clean-up will take place along the roadside in an effort to remove trash built up over the winter. The West Branch portion will cover the roadside from Wilmington to the Ski Jumps in Lake Placid. The East Branch portion will cover the roadside from the hamlet of Jay to the hamlet of Keene. AsRA has added additional sections of road to the cleanup plan this year to accommodate feedback from last year’s participants and other community groups.

Joining AsRA and Rotary Clubs this year are additional sponsors of the Wilmington event location. One Tree Planted, an international environmental organization, is providing financial and logistical support for the event. NRS, an international outdoor equipment business with a strong regional presence, is providing lunch for all cleanup volunteers. Revo, an international sunglasses company, is donating several pairs of sunglasses as a door prize raffle for cleanup volunteers. Several local municipalities and individuals have also joined in the effort by picking up trash, disposing of waste free of charge, and providing other services that will make the event run smoothly.

“The clean-up is intended to engage the community in protecting and restoring the Ausable River and its watershed,” said Liz Metzger, Research Associate and event coordinator at AsRA. “The Ausable River faces many challenges, including climate change, road salt pollution, invasive species, undersized culverts, and bank erosion. Clean-up participants will be improving the health of the river and allowing it to better manage and survive these challenges.”

The clean-up will take place from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on April 22, 2022, with registration opening at 9:30 a.m. Volunteers will meet at the Wilmington Town Beach at Lake Everest for the Wilmington event, or the parking lot on the corner of NY-9 and Bear Swamp Road for the Au Sable Point event. For more information, visit the Ausable River Association website: https://www.ausableriver.org/events/earth-month-ausable-river-cleanup.

Photo caption: Volunteers at the 2021 Earth Month Ausable River Cleanup removed 2,000 pounds of trash that would have ended up in the Ausable River. Photo provided – John DiGiacomo, Placid Times Photography.

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Posting because Syracuse is OVERCOME with very frequesnt shootings. Source: Shots, screams, partiers run: Witnesses describe Armory Square shooting that killed 1, injured 4 – syracuse.com

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St. Augustine’s Church wishes everyone a Happy and Blessed Easter. Hallelujah expresses our praise, joy and thanks on this day!

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Tax collections for State Fiscal Year (SFY) 2021-22 totaled $121.1 billion — $3.3 billion higher than forecast by the Division of the Budget (DOB) in the Amended Executive Budget financial plan released in February, and more than $30 billion higher than DOB’s initial forecasts from May 2021, according to the March State Cash Report released today by New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli.

Tax collections for SFY 2021-22 were $38.8 billion higher than the previous year. However, receipts in SFY 2021-22 include $16.4 billion in business tax collections from the new Pass-Through Entity Tax (PTET), which was not included in SFY 2021-22 Enacted Budget projections. PTET proceeds are expected by the Division of the Budget to be offset by lower personal income tax (PIT) collections in subsequent years. Excluding the PTET, overall tax collections were $13.6 billion higher than initial forecasts from May 2021.

“The state ended the fiscal year in a good position due to higher than projected receipts and lower than projected spending,” DiNapoli said. “I’m pleased to see deposits were made to the rainy-day fund reserves to set aside some of the state’s gains. Following through with plans to increase these formal reserves should remain a priority in light of continuing economic challenges and significant new spending commitments made recently in the Enacted Budget.”

PIT collections totaled $70.7 billion, exceeding prior year collections by $15.7 billion or 28.5%. PIT collections exceeded February Financial Plan projections by $2.6 billion and projections from the Enacted Budget by $9.7 billion, supported by strong withholding collections as well as an extra collection day in March.

Consumption and use taxes, which include sales tax receipts, totaled $19.6 billion, exceeding the prior year total by $3.5 billion or 21.7%. Collections were $363.3 million higher than the latest projections and just under $1.5 billion higher than initial projections.

Business tax collections totaled $27.7 billion which was $18.9 billion higher than the previous year. This includes $16.4 billion in the PTET (which is anticipated to be offset by reduced PIT revenue in subsequent years). Not including the PTET, annual growth would have been $2.5 billion or 28.5%. Total business tax collections exceeded the latest projections by $5.6 million and initial projections by $18.1 billion. Without the PTET, business tax collections would have exceeded the latest projections by $285 million and initial projections by $1.7 billion.

All Funds spending totaled $209.3 billion, which was $22.8 billion, or 12.2%, higher than last year. Total spending was $3.6 billion lower than the most recent projections and $452.4 million higher than initial projections. The General Fund ended the fiscal year with a balance of $33.053 billion, an increase of $23.9 billion from opening balance. This includes $4.5 billion of federal fiscal recovery funds made available through the American Rescue Plan. Financial plan management actions taken by DOB at the end of the year include:

• $7.6 billion in debt service prepayments and debt defeasance, which was $4.7 billion higher than the most recent forecast;
• $724 million set aside for public employee health insurance costs;
• $843 million was deposited to the state’s two rainy day reserves, which was $32 million lower than anticipated; and
• Undesignated funds in the General Fund balance (Refund Reserve) totaled $29.7 billion, which was $2.6 billion higher than last anticipated. This includes $16.4 billion in PTET proceeds.

March Cash Report

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For those who prefer hot tea or hot chocolate, they will also be free with a travel mug. This promotion runs all day, Earth Day on Friday, April 22^nd.

Peru Kathryn Bowman (bowling) and Wyatt Premore (basketball) were named the Holmes All-Academic recipients for Peru.

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Defendant Admits to Stealing in Excess of $51,000 of her Deceased Mother’s Pension

New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli and Orange County District Attorney David M. Hoovler announced that on Thursday, April 14, 2022, Valerie White, 58, of Middletown, pled guilty in Orange County Court to Grand Larceny in the Third Degree. Under the plea agreement announced on the record at the time of the guilty plea, White was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $51,532.64, which is the total funds that White illegally stole from the state pension system.

White’s mother was a pensioner, vested in the New York State and Local Retirement System (NYSLRS). At the time that White’s mother retired in 2000, she elected to receive her pension benefits in full until her death. When White’s mother died in 2017, the death was not reported to NYSLRS and pension benefits continued to be made to an account that White jointly held with her mother. As a result, from 2017 until NYSLRS learned of the pensioner’s death in 2019, over $54,000 were unjustly deposited into the account. While NYSLRS was able to claw back approximately $2,500 of the amount stolen, the remaining was spent by White on personal expenses. At the time of her plea, White admitted to stealing the money and that she knew she did not have permission or authority to take the funds.

“Ms. White thought she could get away with defrauding the New York State and Local Retirement System of over $50,000, but she was wrong,” said New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli. “Today’s guilty plea should be a warning sign to anyone attempting to steal state pension benefits that my office will find you and work with law enforcement to hold you accountable. I thank Orange County District Attorney Hoovler for his continued partnership and steadfast commitment to holding those who try to defraud the public accountable.”

District Attorney Hoovler thanked the New York State Comptroller’s Office and the New York State Police for their joint investigation of White that led to her arrest.

“The State pension system is the backbone of the hard-working public servants throughout the State,” said District Attorney Hoovler. “That this defendant would seek to manipulate the system for her own benefit is reprehensible. I am thankful for the dedicated investigation conducted by the Comptroller’s Office together with the New York State Police that ensured this defendant would be held accountable for her actions.”

The case is prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Tanja Beemer.

A criminal charge is merely an allegation by the police that a defendant has committed a violation of the criminal law, and it is not evidence of guilt. All defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial, during which it will be the State of New York’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

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Since taking office in 2007, DiNapoli has committed to fighting public corruption and encourages the public to help fight fraud and abuse. New Yorkers can report allegations of fraud involving taxpayer money by calling the toll-free Fraud Hotline at 1-888-672-4555, by filing a complaint online at investigations@osc.ny.gov, or by mailing a complaint to: Office of the State Comptroller, Division of Investigations, 8th Floor, 110 State St., Albany, NY 12236.

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